


Hangover

by extremesoft



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Angst, Drunken Kiss, Drunkenness, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Rejection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 20:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15154904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extremesoft/pseuds/extremesoft
Summary: "You fucked up, happy birthday."





	Hangover

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how I even managed to write something this angsty and straight up gritty about a birthday party, but the idea has followed me for like two months, so what else was I going to do. Ohh. 
> 
> The bits in cursive in the end and in the beginning are quotes from the 2017 sofa video (bless that video), apart from what I made Daniel think in the very end of course.

_"Yeah. We- we were in Saint-Tropez for my birthday... That's right."  
"It was such a calm night."_

 

The music is blaring and Daniel swears the baseline practically rips through his chest with irresistible force and makes his insides violently vibrate to it. Everything is swaying, swimming through his brain, in and out; there seems to be a veil woven out of beer and cocktails and shots covering his eyes. Someone he can't focus on says something he can't focus on and he tries to yell an answer over the music, but doesn't quite catch his own words.

It's one hell of a birthday party Daniel's throwing. Everything about it is such a rock star cliché it makes him burst into a giggle almost involuntarily as the thought crosses his foggy mind; a Formula 1 driver having a party on a warm, sunny evening in Saint-Tropez by a pool with young and beautiful people and a seemingly endless stream of booze. How has it come to this, his life, really, he's turning 28 and his birthday sounds like something straight out of celebrity gossip magazines. _'The Honey Badger's wet 'n' wild pool party!' 'Lights out at night out in St. Tropez, see pictures!'_

Daniel shakes his head and drags his thoughts somewhere else, not quite being drunk enough to be in the state of retreating into a corner and sobbing incomprehensibly through hiccups how even his birthdays were different and simpler when he was a child and he used to eat cake mum had baked for him, mum really bakes the best cakes, God I love my mum. He stands by the bar with a beer in his hand and glances around, just stopping for a moment and letting himself take everything in at once, in an overwhelming explosion of sensations, before perhaps moving on and mixing in with the others again. The smiles and laughter of all the pleasantly intoxicated people, the music that feels like it's really just one song that never ends because he doesn't seem to hear anything but the unchanged baseline, the splashes and screeches that reach his ears every time someone decides it's time to try the pool out. Good times.

As Daniel's gaze wanders around the undoubtedly wet 'n' wild party it picks Max up, and Daniel manages to notice that Max is looking at him as well at that exact moment. How funny is that, the teammates finding each other like that in the middle of the crowd. Max raises his glass to him in a wordless greeting, having a wonderfully bright smile on his lips, and Daniel mimicks the gesture with his bottle. Max turns and starts to make his way to Daniel, and Daniel notices himself sharpening up a bit, as if a cool breeze had suddenly made the skin of his arms break out in goosebumps. Max has that effect on him for some reason, and it has got nothing to do with Daniel's drunkenness.

"How are you doing?" yells Max to Daniel when he gets to the bar and leans next to him against the counter. His cheeks are tinted with a tale-telling pink glow, but otherwise it's really hard for Daniel to tell how much he's had and if it's had any effect on him. Daniel just thinks he looks good like that, fresh-faced, relaxed and carefree, at least eight out of ten.  
"Good", shouts Daniel. "It's not yet sunk in how old I'm getting, but maybe you being there now helps."  
Max sniggers - Daniel can't really hear that but sees it on Max's face and in the way his stomach clenches - and shakes his head. "I can also go away if I make you feel bad."  
"Nah, you just got there", yells Daniel. "Have another one", he continues and gestures to Max's more than half empty glass to make his point over the noise. Max nods, understanding what Daniel means, turns to the bartender and gestures to his glass to make the same point to them as well. The bartender nods in response and artfully mixes the drink, and the chain of nods and gestures ends with Max decisively emptying his old glass before being handed a new one.

Daniel observes the act of Max ordering a drink more fixedly than he realizes himself. He takes notice of the way Max's fingers move and tap the counter while he's waiting, the way the corner of his lip turns upwards when he glances at Daniel, the way his eyes seem as calm and steely as ever when he's focused on accomplishing the simple mission of placing his order but turn warm and lively the second he gets the drink and turns to Daniel again. Silly little details that Daniel's clouded eyes catch and hazy mind magnifies, making them tenfold. He would like to think he's staring at Max just because he's too plastered for his own good and getting glassy-eyed;

but he's got an odd feeling that it still has got nothing to do with his drunkenness, and he can feel an urge, an itch, stirring beneath his skin.

"What?" shouts Max to him, seemingly amused when he catches Daniel staring. "Is it starting to sink in now?"  
Daniel shrugs. "I dunno."  
"Are you feeling okay?" asks Max, suddenly looking a bit puzzled. "Not too drunk?"  
Daniel laughs at that and shakes his head. "That's cute!" he yells. "Nah, I'm fine. Wonderfully intoxicated, but in a civilized manner."  
Max giggles at him, getting the joke of effortlessly using elaborate words despite being hammered.

_'F1 star spotted with mysterious blonde, see pictures!'_

"Can't really talk here, though", adds Daniel, suddenly not quite sure what he's doing but feeling the urge getting stronger the more he's looking at Max, and he doesn't know if he can resist scratching the itch, so to say. "Mind heading inside for a moment?"  
Max shrugs and nods, a frown flashing on his face for a split second before he clearly decides to forget about whatever it was that caused it and straightens himself. "No, sure."

Daniel is not convinced about the ability of his legs to perform and actually carry his weight once they get going, but he manages to swerve and stumble through the swarm of people with Max trailing him, the floor waving under his feet and the faces in his sight mixing into a mass of smiles and half-closed eyes. He keeps getting stopped every couple of meters, something's shouted to him and he shouts something back before carrying on, and Max follows a couple of steps behind.

They enter the posh penthouse after taking surprisingly much time to cross such a short distance; the door is not closed and there are a few people chatting away there as well, but the music suddenly getting a tad muffled by the walls around them is what makes the contrast to where they came from so striking, the ability to actually hear one's own thoughts feeling mind-blowing. Daniel heads towards the kitchen with unsteady steps, Max still following him and both of them still clutching their drinks. They leave a trail of water drops behind them, the glass and the bottle being wet from condensation. Max sits down on a bar stool while Daniel pours water for both of them and giggles uncontrollably when Max just takes the glass from him, empties it with one long gulp and burps before saying "thanks, mate".  
"You're welcome", says Daniel, pats Max on the shoulder and drinks from his beer instead of his glass of water. "You're younger, so it is my responsibility-", he pauses for a small burp himself and makes Max chuckle with that, "-to make sure you learn to get drunk right. Sufficient water intake is key."  
"Yeah, I know", says Max, looking amused and dreamy and Daniel gets lost into it, his mind oddly feeling like it's both racing and being stuck simultaneously, which doesn't make any sense; but then again does any of it, really. "And fried chicken burgers as well, I believe."  
"That's the other key, yeah", confirms Daniel and slowly nods a few times, his dark curls bobbing as he does that. "And when you have both keys in your hand... water and fried chicken burgers... you'll be able to master the art of avoiding hangover."

He narrows his eyes to look exaggeratedly dramatic as he speaks but can't hold a grin back for long, and Max laughs at him heartily, leaning backwards but staying in balance on the stool. Daniel hears the dull thumping of his heartbeat in his ears even over the muffled but persistent music.  
"Everybody has probably asked if you feel different today than you did yesterday", starts Max slowly, stretching his neck and taking a sip of his drink, "you know, being a year older now."  
Daniel leans against the counter and places a hand on it, not far from Max's knee.  
"Yeah, they sure have", he says and drinks from his beer again. "But what I've said..."  
He has to take a moment to remember what he's said, and Max chuckles at him actually frowning. "What I've said is that today I'm only a day older than yesterday... and that doesn't feel at all different."  
He looks Max dead in the eye, feeling somehow powerful after having spoken such wise words. Max nods in agreement.  
"You're right, you only live one day at a time."  
"Exactly. Can't do anything else."  
"And you've got to make the most of every day."

To Daniel the words feel like a prophecy, a spell Max casts on him. Max is right; one day at a time, and no regrets, never. Daniel thinks he'll rather regret something he's done than not doing something with all the drunken determination he can muster. And in case all else fails, it's his birthday and he's entitled to treat himself to a gift.

Daniel leans forward, aims and closes his eyes as he lands his lips on Max's. His nerves are screaming but he ignores them, his brain and stomach swivel but he doesn't want to open his eyes, not just yet, God how good Max's mouth feels against his own, is there a reason he hasn't done this sooner? The touch is surprisingly soft considering the state he's in.

A bewildered sound escapes Max's throat before he leans back, away from Daniel, not much since him sitting on a bar stool doesn't allow that but enough to create a gap between them.  
"Uh, Daniel..." starts Max, now sounding alarmingly uncomfortable; but Daniel fails to notice the strain in his voice. "What are you doing?"  
Daniel feels Max's breath on his face, smells the tangy cocktail he's been drinking and slightly opens his eyes, his lids feeling heavy and reluctant to move anymore.  
"You have no idea..."

 _...how long I've wanted to do that_ are the words that bounce around his mind, almost ready for bouncing down his tongue and out of his mouth as well, he just has to take a moment again before he can complete a sentence at this point-

and then someone drops a glass somewhere in the penthouse, Daniel hears a loud chink and the tinkling of shards spreading across the floor, and somehow the sound cutting through the air forcefully snaps him out of it, instantly making him feel nauseous as what he's just done and Max’s reaction to it sink in.

"...how hammered I am", he manages to say, the urge he's felt being suddenly replaced by feeling horrifyingly sobered up. He can only pray that Max accepts it as an excuse; Max looks baffled and weirded out at first and it makes Daniel want to either scream or puke this instant, but he seems to eventually accept the explanation.  
"I might have some idea now", says Max, still with a faint strain of uncertainty but rewarding Daniel with a laugh. "Oh, man. Okay, I'm glad you like me, and I like you a lot as well, but maybe not quite that much."  
He places a soothing hand on Daniel's arm nevertheless, and Daniel knows he must look like crap but he has never imagined a gesture like that could make him _feel_ so much like crap as well. "Do you need anything, should I take you to the toilet..?"  
"Nah, I'm good", answers Daniel, trying at the same time to remember where the nearest toilet is so he can rush there once he gets the opportunity, alone. "Uh… sorry, mate."  
"It's okay", says Max, making Daniel feel even more queasy since he knows how not okay it in reality is. "I'm just never going to stop teasing you about it, you know.”  
"Yeah, well... I may have deserved that", says Daniel and squeezes out a chuckle before taking a gulp of his water. He suddenly feels like he's crashed from the high of the pleasant intoxication straight down to the worst hangover of his entire life.

The moment shatters and the opportunity for Daniel to escape presents itself when someone enters the kitchen to look for a new glass. Max offers a helping hand and Daniel quickly says he'll head back outside before walking out of the kitchen. He stumbles straight to the toilet and locks the door, crouches before the seat and vomits so violently his eyes tear up, as if his system is trying to get rid of feelings as well as the drinks he's consumed. He feels groggy and infinitely empty as he clumsily gets to his feet, his legs shaking badly, and washes his face and mouth.  
"You fucked up, happy birthday", he says to his reflection in the mirror before heading out to perform the balancing act of avoiding Max for the rest of the night but not too much.

His hangover the next morning is something unthinkable and he's not even sure where the physical side of it ends and the mental one begins; he doesn’t know whether Max texting him "good morning" and a bunch of laughing crying emojis after noon manages to relieve the latter a bit or actually make it worse, and he can't help thinking that there’s no amount of water and fried chicken burgers in the world that could have prevented him from feeling so unbelievably pathetic.

 

_"That's pretty calm-! Uhh, alright..."  
"I don't want to think about it anymore."_

_Me neither_ , echoes Daniel in his mind, hiding behind his laughter and unable to think of anything else.


End file.
